Cities along the US East Coast are expected to begin returning to normal after more than three days of digging out from a massive blizzard.

District of Columbia city government, along with local governments in the Washington and Baltimore regions, are set to reopen as the clean-up from the snowstorm that killed more than 40 people across 10 states continues.

New York was largely back to normal on Monday despite near-record snowfall, with public schools and the New York Stock Exchange open.

Mayor Bill de Blasio credited better communication between the city and the state after the fiasco surrounding the 2010 "Snowmageddon" storm was not repeated.

Image Caption:President Obama stands with a cup of coffee outside a snowy White House

But Washington and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs remained at a standstill after more than 2ft of snow.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers stayed at home on Monday as crews worked to clear the DC subway system - the second-busiest in the US - and roads.

Video:New York Shivers Under The Snow

Federal offices will be closed again on Tuesday after they closed at midday on Friday ahead of the storm.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said public schools in the city will remain closed until Wednesday.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority general manager Paul Wiedefeld said all rail services except the Silver Line in Virginia would run a modified service on Tuesday.

Video:Snow Joke For Eastern United States

The Federal Aviation Administration said airlines were expected to increase traffic slowly in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and the Washington region.

Around 500 US flights were cancelled on Tuesday, less than a third of the number on Monday, according to Flightaware.com.

The House of Representatives has called off all votes until next week as the snow disrupted lawmakers returning to their home districts.

Video:Timelapse Snow Video Goes Viral

Among the victims of the storm was a man who apparently died when a snowplough trapped him inside his still-running car.

Berks County coroner's office in eastern Pennsylvania said 56-year-old David Perrotto was pronounced dead after he was found on Saturday night in Muhlenberg Township.

Assistant Chief Deputy John Hollenbach said he was apparently trying to dig out his car.

Video:Snowdiving Trend Sweeps US

Investigators believe he was either in the car or got in to make room for a plough which came by and buried the car, blocking the exhaust and his exit and causing him to die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Authorities in Maryland said an unidentified woman was rescued on Monday near Accokeek after being trapped inside her car for three days.

Major Luis Gurri said the vehicle was in a side street that had not been ploughed and the woman was conscious and uninjured when she was rescued.